Copycat Tournament of Kings Dragon's Blood Soup

My husband and I spent a long weekend in Vegas recently and while there we took in the Tournament of Kings Show at Excalibur Hotel.....(If you are going I highly recommend this show!!!)
Dinner is served during the show and with it came some extremely tasty Dragon's Blood Soup (tomato soup). I knew I needed to find this and make it! I came across several copycat recipes some seemed so plain Jane and others seemed completely off....I decided to have a crack at it and combined a few ideas......I think it comes pretty close!





8 medium roma tomatoes, cored , quartered and de-seeded
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 TB fresh sweet basil (2 tsp dried)
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp paprika
sea salt and pepper to taste





Foil line and oil a baking pan(rimmed!) with olive oil and preheat oven to 400

Place tomatoes, skin side down on one half of the pan, the  onions, peppers and garlic  on the other, drizzle with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.









Bake for about 45 minutes until the onion begins to caramelize(check to make sure the onions arent getting over brown, turn gently as needed....when the garlic is golden and soft you can pull them out.)

When the veggies are done, peel the garlic and pour all the veggies and add the basil into a blender or food processor(you can do this with a hand blender in a big bowl if you have one)

Blend veggies well adding the broth and processing until very smooth.





Pour into a deep pan, add the half and half, baking soda and paprika, stir and heat through adding salt and pepper as desired.


Serve hot with a sprinkling of dried basil and pepper

Mexican Corn Bread Casserole

I usually make my own refried beans but I had a can of Old El Paso refried beans on hand for a Cafemom review so I figured I would make up a yummy recipe for it! I love it when experiments go perfectly the first time!!
I used ground beef this time around, ground turkey or chicken would be great, shredded chicken breast would be yummy, or make it a vegetarian dish with whole black beans in place of the meat!






Filling:
1/2 lb ground beef(you can use a full lb if you like, I just went less since we are using refried beans too)
1 recipe(or packet) taco seasoning
1 can diced green chilies
1 jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed, minced(optional)
1/2 cup salsa
1-16 oz can refried beans(about 2 cups if you want to make your own)
3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted


2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese(or pepper jack for a kick!), divided use
1/3 cup minced green onions


Corn Bread:
2 cups cornmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 TB sugar(optional)
1 TB white vinegar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
6 TB butter, melted
3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted


1 TB "grease" (bacon fat or lard is best, but you can use butter if you dont have them)



First make the filling:

In a pan over medium heat, cook the ground beef until no pink remains, drain if necessary
add 1/3 cup water and taco seasoning, simmer until the water and seasonings have thickened.

Add, salsa chilies, peppers and  refried beans,  mix well and heat through, fold in corn gently. Remove from heat and set aside









In a 8 x 13 pan place the 1 TB "grease", place it in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

While it is heating make the cornbread:

In the bottom of a measuring cup pour the 1 TB vinegar, add enough milk to measure 1 1/2 cups, mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.

Mix together all the dry ingredients.

Beat the egg into the milk mixture, stir the milk into the dry ingredients and








Then stir in the butter and corn gently.











When the oven is preheated and the pan is hot, quickly and carefully remove from the oven and swish the melted grease around to cover the bottom.










Pour 1/2 the cornbread mixture over the bottom of the hot pan










then spread the filling mixture over the top, Sprinkle with  1 cup of the cheese.










Mix the remaining cheese  and green onions into the remaining cornbread mixture










then spread it evenly over the top of the filling.










Bake in hot oven for 30-35 minutes.

Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing


Top with sour cream and other "taco" toppings if you like!

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love the Brittany Angell's website Real Sustenance, she recently made a maple bacon chocolate chunk cookie. I made it the other day and DELICIOUS!!! However almond flour is pricey(even grinding your own can be expensive) so since we dont need grain free,  I set out to make a version of my own. I am including both GF and non-GF versions...


3 (thick)slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

3 cups all purpose flour

OR
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 egg
1/3 cup pure maple syrup*
1 cup chocolate chips



* if you dont have 100% pure maple syrup you can use 1/3 cup water and 1/4 tsp more maple extract and add 3 TB more white sugar


Cook and Crumble your bacon
Preheat oven to 350
Grease cookie sheets










Combine flour(or GF combo, sift well!)with soda and salt








In another bowl beat sugars with butter and maple extract











Beat in egg










Add in flour 1/2 cup at a time and alternate with syrup until well combined.











Add in chocolate chips and crumbled bacon.











Drop by rounded spoonful onto a lightly greased baking sheet










Bake 13-15 minutes until the centers are set, let stand 2 minutes before removing from the pan.

Makes 3 dozen












Try not to eat them all!


With the bacon, I would suggest storing in a sealed container in the fridge....if they last that long LOL

Reuben Pizza

Oh how I love Reubens....I figured why not make it a pizza!?











1 large crust.....(I used my GF Focaccia (par-baked for 10 minutes, not fully baked) and added 2 tsp caraway seeds for a "rye" flair, for non-gf I would recommend a rye crust like this one)


thinly sliced corned beef
sauerkraut, drained well
shredded swiss cheese
Russian or 1000 Island Dressing(see below for recipe)


Russian Dressing:
1- 6 oz container(3/4 cup) plain non fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup chili sauce(sweet or hot, your choice, I like sweet)
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp horseradish
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 TB fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp lemon juice

sugar to taste(I used 1/4 tsp)

Mix all of the above ingredients and allow to mingle for at least an hour.









Preheat oven to 400.










Spread desired amount of sauce over the pizza crust(the above recipe makes quite a bit, I didnt use it all)











Arrange corned beef over the dressing, then sauerkraut, then top with shredded swiss








Bake in hot oven for 10-15 minutes until the crust is finished baking and the toppings are hot and bubbly(this is for using the GF crust, your baking may vary depending on the crust you use!)

Gluten Free Pretzel Dogs

We are not huge fans of hot dogs around here, but on occasion I buy so good quality ones for a "treat"(I really like the Open Nature(Safeway) ones that are uncured and nitrate free) I based off of this recipe from Bob's Red Mill and changed it to suit.







This made 12 "mini-dogs" (half hot dogs)

6 hot dogs, cut in half
(a little more time consuming, but it would be a wonderful party appetizer using lil' smokies!!)

1 TB yeast
2/3 cup milk, warm(approx 110 degrees)I used flax milk this time
(If you use a dairy alternative that is UNSWEETENED, add 1 tsp sugar as well)

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp gelatin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 TB olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar

Optional:
1/2 cup finely shredded cheese


In a large bowl combine yeast and milk(and sugar if needed) allow to sit for 5 minutes until nicely foamy











In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients and whisk well.












Add olive oil and vinegar to the yeast mixture and mix well, then slowly add the dry ingredients, beat for 3 minutes on high. (If using add the cheese in the last 30 seconds of mixing)









Turn dough onto a surface dusted with cornstarch.












Cut dough into 12 equal portions.
Rinse and shake off the hot dogs(you want them damp but not dripping)









Flatten a dough piece into a rectangle slightly larger than the hot dog piece....place the dog in the center and roll up,  folding the sides down and tucking under, rolling it gently , press all seams to seal.











--If you are not putting cheese in the dough(or even if you are LOL)You could do a small amount of cheese(about 1/2 a slice per dog and just wrap it around) in each roll too.









Place on a greased baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough/dogs.


Allow to rise in a warm spot for 15 minutes.

Make a mixture of 1 tsp cornstarch and 2 TB milk(or milk alternative or even water) and brush each dog lightly.








Preheat oven to 400.




Bake dogs for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.

In the last 5 minutes you can re-brush with the cornstarch solution then sprinkle with salt. Brush then sprinkle each one, it dries VERY fast!! (salt is optional of course, or other seasonings would be good....dried garlic or onion flakes, poppy seeds ETC)